Poet: The Night Mother Nature Went Insane

Poet: The Night Mother Nature Went Insane

[Photo: Colorado State University Library]

Before this latest flood, there was the Big Thompson flood of 1976. As it did this year, water poured down at an alarming rate. Unlike this year, the rainfall was more localized and away from a population that was largely unaware that anything was amiss until a giant wall of water tumbled down the canyon and claimed 143 lives.

Hudson, Colorado native Jim Bollars recounted the flood's devastation in a poem that we originally aired in 1985 as part of a series on Colorado folklife called "Do Not Pass Me By." Bollars' words describe scenes that sound very familiar to Coloradans these days. He closes the poem with a sign of hope--the reality that even in a disaster, miracles do happen.

"Do Not Pass Me By: A Celebration of Colorado Folklife," was a series of stories that were hosted by Harry Tuft featuring field recordings that were produced by former state folklorist David Brose with chief engineer John Hindleman.